WEBVTT 'S LETICIA ORDAZ HAS BEENOUT THERE, AND THEARE TALKINGABOUT HOW THE KINDNESS OFSTRANGERS IS HELPING PEOPLEUNDER A WHOLE LOT OF STRESS.>> IT WAS HECTIC.WE HAD TO ABOUT KIDS.WE LEFT WITH NOTHING.ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.LETICIA: SOME PARENTS GRABBINGTHEIR KIDS AS SOON AS POSSIBLEAND LEAVING WITHOUT THEIR SHOES.THEY MADE IT TO THE FAIRGROUNDSIN CHICO.>> WE GOT DIAPERS, WE GOTFORMULA, GOT WHITE SPIRITANYTHING YOU NEED FOR BABY, WEGOT IT.THEY ARE REALLY TRYING TO KEEPUS IN THE LOOP WITH EVERYTHING.LETICIA: RED CROSSVOLUNTEERPROVIDING WARM MEALS.SUPPLIES ARE COMING IN BY THETHOUSANDS.NONPROFIT GROUPS AND CHURCHESARE MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE WHOHAVE BEEN EVACUATED HAVE WHATTHEY NEED. AT >> WE HAVE BEENHERE SINCE 7:00, 8:00.WE ARE SETTING UP AND GETTINGBLANKETS FOR EVERYBODY.I'M GOING TO STAY HERE.WE COULD HAVE LEFT OUR FAMILIES.WE ARE STAYING HERE.LETICIA:WITHOUT A CELL PHONE,SHE GOT STRANDED AT THE GASSTATION.JUST BUT IT HAS BEEN A LONGNIGHT.I AM SO COLD, I CAN'T TOPSHAKING.LETICI WE DELIVERED HERINFORMATION TO THE RED CROSS,WHO GAVE IT TO THE CHP ONSTANDBY.>> THE HIGHWAY CONTROL -- THEHIGHWAY PATROL RESCUED ME WITH ALOT OF HELP OVER AT THE SHELLSTATION.BLESS HIS HEART.LETICIA: YOU SEE A LOTOFEXAMPLES OF KINDNESS.>> OH, YEAH.VERY MUCH.LETICIA: I'M HAPPY TO SEE YOUHERE.>> THANK YOU.LETICI WE WERE HAPPY TO SEE

Evacuation order lifted near Lake Oroville for 200K Californians

Share

Shares

Copy Link

{copyShortcut} to copy
Link copied!

Updated: 8:21 PM EST Feb 14, 2017

OROVILLE, Calif. (KCRA) —

The mandatory evacuation orders that have remained in place for two night have been reduced to an evacuation warning near Lake Oroville, where erosion and threats of failure have plagued two spillways near the dam.

Nearly 200,000 people in Butte, Sutter and Yuba counties were evacuated Sunday evening as the California Department of Water Resources warned that a failure of the emergency spillway was imminent as Lake Oroville exceeded full capacity.

Related Content

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea announced during a Tuesday news conference that officials made the decision that the situation at Lake Oroville had improved.

"Taking into the current account of the risk, the capacity of the lake and the incoming weather, we have concluded that we have reduced the evacuation order to an evacuation warning," Honea said.

On Tuesday, Gov. Jerry Brown confirmed that the federal government approved aid to support the rebuilding of the shore and help the affected communities.

Brown said Tuesday the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved two recent aid requests made by his office. Last week, Brown requested a presidential disaster declaration for California to reinforce recovery efforts following January storms that caused flooding, mudslides, power outages and damaged critical infrastructure across the state.

The governor thanked FEMA for moving quickly, saying "the federal aid will get money and resources where it's needed most."

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, the lake had dropped 15 feet to 887.94 feet elevation since it peaked above capacity at 902.1 feet.

The California Department of Water Resources is still allowing nearly 100,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to flow out of the normal emergency spillway, which was the first spillway to develop erosion one week ago.

The inflows continue to decrease and stand at 23,265 cfs, leading to an average drop in Lake Oroville of 5 inches per hour, as of early Tuesday morning.

Water officials have their eyes set on a goal of reducing the lake down to about 850 feet in preparation for upcoming storms set to arrive in the area by Thursday.

HOW ARE REPAIRS COMING ALONG?

Crews began dumping large 2-ton bags of rocks on the erosion-damaged emergency spillway Monday afternoon. Helicopters were seen carrying the bags and dropping them into the hole along the outside of the spillway, to the north of the normal spillway.

The helicopter drops stopped Monday night, but picked up again Tuesday morning, as crews also began filling giant bags full of sand.

Although both the normal spillway and the emergency spillway have suffered damage, DWR's acting director Bill Croyle insists the Oroville Dam is not in danger and is confident in the state of the infrastructure.

"Our infrastructure is holding up very well, even though it's been damaged," Croyle said. "And if we can keep up these discharge rates of 100,000 cfs in the coming days, we will make good progress."